By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Workers walked out of Rio Tinto’s Kitimat, British Columbia, smelter on Sunday, July 25, after failing to secure a new contract. The union voted 100% in favor of the strike. This smelter was operating at 383,000 metric tons/year. Some familiar themes are at the center of the labor dispute. […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. Following Memorial […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary U.S. refined demand continues to impress through the traditionally slower summer months, with market contacts reporting still-strong off-take under long-term contracts into August. We hear that many consumers continue to take the higher end of their contracted metal tonnage, with some still buying additional spot quantities. A further increase […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased from June to July, with all products following large gains in previous months. Over the last 30 days, coking coal prices increased 16% and busheling scrap prices rose 5%. Zinc and aluminum prices increased less than 1%, while shredded scrap remained flat and pig […]
The incentive to purchase hot rolled steel imports over steel produced domestically continues to grow, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. As domestic prices soar higher, foreign prices are flat or declining, holding potential discounts of 11% to 27% after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs […]
Spot tons of flat rolled steel are still in short supply, report respondents to Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week. Any tons that are available command a rising premium. Flat rolled prices increased by another $10-40 per ton, with some reporting hot rolled offers as high as $1,900, though HRC saw a […]
Preliminary Census data shows that total foreign steel imports are up 15% from May to June, reaching 2.90 million tons. This is now the highest monthly import level of 2021, surpassing the April high of 2.64 million tons. The last time imports were this high was January 2020 when imports totaled 3.16 million tons. July import licenses through […]
The average utilization rate for U.S. steel mills reached 84.6% in the week ending July 24, while domestic raw steel production totaled 1,868,000 net tons, keeping the upward momentum going for the fourth straight week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly output was up 0.5% compared to the week prior when […]
SSAB Americas aims to increase plate prices by $150-200 per ton ($7.50-$10 per cwt) effective immediately. The $150-per-ton price hike applies to as-rolled mill plate and coil as well as to cut-to-length plate more than 72 inches wide, the steelmaker said in letters to customers on Monday, July 26. The $200-per-ton increase is for all […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis U.S. Representative Scott Peters (D-CA) and U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) unveiled their FAIR Transition and Competition Act of 2021 on July 19. The stated objectives of the bill were: • Recognize the costs incurred by U.S. companies in producing cleaner products due to emissions-related laws and regulations • […]
Hyundai Steel has made what is probably its last offer for imported plate for 2021 delivery to Gulf Coast ports, according to market participants. And there might be only one more offering to West Coast ports, sources said. Plate made by the South Korean steelmaker is being offered to Houston and New Orleans – the primary Gulf Coast […]
Editor’s note: SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held a variety of commercial […]
Editor’s note: SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held a variety of commercial […]
Flat-rolled steel prices continue to shoot upward – with no signs of the summer doldrums, the chip shortage or fears of a correction blunting their momentum. U.S hot-rolled rolled coil prices now stand at $1,850 per ton ($92.50 per cwt), up $30 per ton from a week ago. Cold-rolled coil and galvanized base prices notched similar […]
Steel Market Update does not forecast steel prices. That’s a fact that can sometimes get lost in all the pricing data we publish. Please don’t let the good news and happy headlines you’ve been reading in SMU every week make you complacent. It’s convenient to listen to the many readers quoted in this newsletter who […]
The average utlization rate for U.S. steel mills reached 84.1% in the week ending July 17, while domestic raw steel production totaled 1,859,000 net tons, up for the third consecutive week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly output was up 0.4% when compared with the week prior when production was 1,852,000 […]
Peruvian steelmaker Corporación Aceros Arequipa S.A. (CAASA) has purchased two scrap yards in Florida to ensure it has enough raw materials for a new steel mill. The assets purchased include a shredder as well as a magnetic metal separation system, according to a notice filed with Peruvian securities regulators. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. […]
May apparent steel supply rose 340,000 tons over April to 9.11 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. This is now the highest suppy level seen since January 2020, surpassing the March 2021 recent high of 8.96 million tons. May supply is up by 2.51 million […]
Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of foreign and domestic steel prices shows a growing attraction for foreign imports across the board. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign prices now hold potential discounts of 8% to 38%. The spread between domestic HRC and foreign imports has surged since late-May, reaching record highs in favor of foreign HRC producers in Far […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with our Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Steel demand continues to outpace supplies in the U.S., leading to one price increase after another. Buyers are struggling to source enough steel to meet their customers’ needs and […]
This report examines the import share of tubular and long products shipments. Imports’ share of total tubular products rose to 47.9% in May, up from 46.6% in April. Total tubular imports rose by 6.4% month on month, while domestic shipments ticked up only slightly by 0.4% during the same period. Overall supply was up as […]
Steel prices rose another $35-50 per ton this week with hot rolled and coated products surpassing notable new benchmarks of $1,800/$2,000. Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week puts the average HRC price at $1,820 per ton ($91/cwt) and galvanized at $2,030 ($101.5/cwt). Buyers continued to voice concerns about late mill shipments and […]
Pipe and tube producers have notified customers this week of further price hikes in response to strong demand and higher costs for the flat-rolled and plate substrate they use to make their products. On Tuesday, July 13, Chicago-based Atlas Tube raised prices on all new orders for mechanical, hollow structural section (HSS) and piling products […]
U.S. mills produced steel at an average utilization rate of 83.6% last week, the highest rate in more than a decade as they scramble to keep up with the strong demand in today’s economy. Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,852,000 net tons in the week ending July 10, up 0.5% compared with the week […]
Final Census data shows that May foreign steel imports totaled 2.53 million tons, down 116,000 tons compared to the month prior, a 4% decline. Although May was down from the month prior, levels remain strong compared to recent months; April imports had reached the highest level seen since July 2020. Current June import licenses through this week […]
SMU found no evidence of a summer lull in our latest check of the market. Sheet prices were flat or up in a post-holiday period that in prior years has seen them slip. Hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil prices were unchanged. Galvanized and Galvalume prices were up $25 per ton and $50 per ton, respectively. […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,842,000 net tons in the week ended July 3, up 0.4% compared with the week prior when production was 1,835,000 net tons. The average mill utilization rate was 83.0%, up 0.3% week on week, based on the available data compiled and reported by the American Iron and Steel […]
Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc., posted its best results in more than a decade in its fiscal third quarter thanks to high prices and strong demand for both ferrous and nonferrous scrap. The Portland, Ore.-based scrap recycler and long steel producer recorded net income of $63.6 million in the third quarter after losing approximately $5 million […]
The latest spread between foreign and domestic steel prices shows an increasing attraction for foreign imports, according to our most recent foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. The price differentials (after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration) between domestic HRC and foreign imports had surged from February to March of […]
As steel prices around the globe surge in response to the war in Ukraine, the brief competitive advantage domestic prices held over foreign steel has flattened, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices are anywhere from $138 per ton cheaper than domestic prices to $74 per ton […]